Stephen Dobbie (free, Queen of the South),
Nathan Dyer (£400k, Southampton)
Jordi Lopez (undisclosed, Mallorca)

Swansea had a superb season last time out with manager Roberto Martinez getting them to play some superb attacking football.

They went into the season unfancied to do much but they made the Liberty Stadium a tough place to visit and with the football they played no one enjoyed playing against them. They won their first home game 2-0 against Nottingham Forest and quickly got into the swing of things beating Plymouth away and Premiership Hull in the Carling Cup.

Early on in the season they found it difficult to turn draws into wins though and went on a record breaking run in November drawing eight games in a row before losing the next two which saw them drop down to the bottom half of the table.

That didn’t last long though and with the goals of Jason Scotland and the brilliance of Jordi Gomez in midfield they quickly improved and got in a winning run to push them towards the top six. They also enjoyed a good run in the FA Cup beating Portsmouth away before falling to an extra time goal at Fulham.

Defeats against Crystal Palace and QPR ended their playoff hops but they still finished well and secured their highest league finish in a number of years.

It's been a summer of change for Swansea with popular manager Roberto Martinez and top goalscorer Jason Scotland both departing for Wigan which has left a big hole to fill.

In has come former QPR boss Paulo Sousa and he'll look forward to working in a calmer environment than he did at Loftus Road. Sousa will have control over whom he buys and who he picks something several QPR fans seem to think was beyond him last season.

His first task was to replace Jason Scotland and thus far they haven't been able to do that and how they replace him will be key for their chances this year.

Jordi Lopez is a good signing in midfield and they have the basis of a good side with most of the excellent midfield that shone last season still around.

I'd be surprised if they did as well as last season as they are more of a known quantity now but a season in mid table should be achievable for them.

PREDICTION: 14th in the Championship

I asked Swanseay fans on an unofficial message board for their thoughts on the new season and here is what they had to say.

How do you think Swansea will fare this season?

We'll build on last season but losing Scotland may mean we just miss the playoffs again

Who are your players to watch out for?

Joe Allen

Is your Manager the right man for the job?

You'll probably know better than me, he has big shoes to fill but so far so good.

Which three teams will be promoted this season?

Sheffield United, West Brom and Newcastle

Which teams will be relegated?

Blackpool, Barnsley and Plymouth

How do you think QPR will fare this season?

Same as last year I think, just below the playoffs

In recent years we’ve shared a few players with Swansea mainly due to the Kenny Jackett connection.

Dennis Oli had a short spell in Wales with the Swans whilst former young player of the season Marcus Bean and Kevin McLeod both had decent spells at both QPR and Swansea . Karl Connolly had a few forgettable years at QPR before moving on to end his career at Swansea City .

Going back further the late great Robbie James was a legend at Swansea and a very good player for QPR playing a big part in getting the side to the Milk Cup final in 1986

Of course the current Swansea manager is Paulo Sousa who had a spell at QPR last season. He has taken Jordi Lopez with his who spent three months at QPR last season.

QPR have faced Swansea just twice in recent years before last season.

We were on the end of a 4-0 hiding in the FA Cup back in 2001 on the day that kevin Gallen was announced as a new signing.

In 2004 Kenny Jackett brought his Swansea side to QPR but the result was different this time with Rangers winning 3-0.

Last season both games were tight affairs. Swansea had their goalkeeper taken off injured at the Liberty Stadium so we had 70 minutes against a team with no keeper but failed to have a single shot in what ended a 0-0 draw.

That draw saw Dowie sacked and the return game at Loftus Road saw new manager Paulo Sousa under pressure and in need of a win. He got that win thanks to a header from Leigterwood which gave us late hope of a playoff push which never really came.

Click on the match for a report of the game from this web site.